This Time Next Year: Michelle Evans

Michelle Evans struggled with her weight since her late teens. However, being a busy mum and working various shifts as a Traffic Officer meant she had little time to take care of herself. One day she decided she needed to do something about it, not only for herself, but for her daughter too.

“At school I was always active and in all the sports teams, so I could just eat whatever I wanted and never really thought about my weight. However, when I went to college, my weight gradually went up. I wasn’t exercising like I used to and I began eating way too many baked potatoes and baguettes on my lunch breaks.

“Other life factors such as being in a happy relationship; working various shifts; and becoming a mum, where you have little time to take care of yourself, all contributed to more weight gain and I reached over 20st.

“Eventually, I just stopped caring and accepted that I was always going to be this size. But then, four years ago my dad died at the age of 53 from heart disease, and I knew it was because of his unhealthy lifestyle. I didn’t want my daughter to lose me the same way I lost my dad. Plus, I didn’t want her to have a weight problem, like me, when she got older.

“My first attempt to lose weight was with a local slimming group and I did lose some weight. However, I plateaued for two months and couldn’t shift a pound, even though I was sticking to the plan. I felt hopeless and I remember crying in my car not knowing what to do. I was wasting money paying for this group each week and wasn’t losing any weight.

“Someone mentioned Cambridge Weight Plan to me but it was something I completely dismissed in the past. I didn’t think it was sustainable because I thought you starved yourself and just had a few shakes to live on. I also didn’t know that you had weekly weigh-ins with your own Consultant, I thought you were just given your shakes and left to it. However, after looking into it, I realised I was wrong.

“I was passed the details of my Consultant, Sarah Fahey, and I began on Step 1 for the first week and lost 8lbs. That was six weeks’ worth of losses in my previous slimming group. I realised I also needed to eat other food while on Plan, so I moved up to Step 2 for the majority of my weight loss and moved up the Steps when I needed to. I had a lot of different events to attend so it was good that I had the flexibility to change Steps depending on what I had going on. Working as a Traffic Officer means I can sometimes be stuck on a job and unable to eat properly. So to keep me on track, I’d always have a Product on me so I wouldn’t stop off at a service station and eat junk food. The Oriental Chilli Soup and Chocolate Chewy Bar are still my favourites. My weekly weigh-ins with Sarah also kept me on track. She would take the time to listen to me and advise me on what Steps to take. Having her there not only made me accountable, it also gave me motivation.

“I’ve lost 2st 9lbs so far and I feel so much more confident. I’ve done an indoor skydive, took my daughter to Alton Towers Splash Landings, and I’m able to run around and play with her; all of which I’d never have been able to do before. The old me would have been sat in the café, watching everyone else enjoying themselves, whereas now I’m the first to get involved.”

If you need some motivation or a kick-start to your weight-loss journey, join our #CWP60Day Challenge – you might be surprised at how much you could lose in 60 days!